If you have several credit cards and only limited money for consolidating them, you should make an informed decision on which credit card you should be paying off first. There are several ways to determine which is the best option for you however there are some easy checks that can be done before you make a decision.
Balance
You do have to obtain an up to date balance from all your credit card providers to get an idea of the outstanding balance. And it is possibly not going to be the one on your statement, because some credit card companies do apply daily interest or they apply it backdated. Therefore you do need to get a balance or settlement figure on all your cards to know how much consolidation finance you need.
Interest rate
You need to determine the interest rate on your credit card as well, and the higher the interest charged the more likely it is that you need to get rid of that card. The reason for that is that if you are only making the minimum payment on the card, you are getting charged interest on the top of your interest next month, which in the end adds up and increases your balance significantly.
Loyalty schemes
If you do have a loyalty scheme attached to the card and are using the benefits it offers, like Air Miles or discount, maybe cash back offers, you do need to take into consideration how much money using your credit card saves you. Therefore if you are saving about $50 by using the credit card and you are getting charged $100 interest it really only costs you $50 a month, so you need to decide if you want to pay off this credit card first or carry on using it.
To determine which credit card to pay off first, you do need to take into consideration all three aspects above. Generally speaking you should be paying off the credit card with the highest interest rate and highest balance first, but again, the loyalty schemes attached can influence your decision as well.
You need to pick one credit card that gives you the most benefits and offers the best interest rate and terms that you want to keep, and gradually, starting with the highest balance and interest credit card you can start paying off the rest. Using only one card will improve your chances to manage your money and monthly repayments much better.